Washington Backs Dunne, 2 Allies For County Board

March 05, 1986|By Charles Mount and Patrick Reardon.

Mayor Harold Washington Tuesday endorsed eight candidates seeking the Democratic nomination to the Cook County Board in the March 18 primary, including board president George Dunne and two of Dunne`s allies.

The endorsements came in crowded primary contest for the 10 board seats elected by Chicago residents.

In addition to Dunne, Washington also endorsed John Stroger, board Finance Committee chairman, and board member Samuel Vaughan. All three are longtime members of the regular Democratic organization, although Dunne, former county party chairman, has been at odds with Ald. Edward Vrdolyak

In making his endorsements, Washington ignored three Democratic incumbents who are seeking re-election: Charles Bowen, Irene Hernandez and Daniel O`Brien.

Ald. Timothy Evans (4th), Washington`s city council floor leader and political adviser, said the mayor had never been close to Bowen, who was elected to the board in 1982 with the help of Vrdolyak, the leader of the anti-administration majority bloc in the council.

Hernandez was not backed, Evans said, because she and Delgado are both from the North Side, and the mayor wanted Hispanics to unite behind Delgado.

``I have chosen to make endorsements in these elections because the fate of our city is inextricably tied to the fate and the leadership of our county,`` Washington said.

Tuesday was also the deadline for candidates in the county primary races to file or mail their campaign contribution reports.

The reports showed that a new campaign committee for all candidates slated by the Cook County Regular Democratic Organization for state and county posts collected at least $59,200 in two weeks at the end of February, most of which came through transfers from the candidates` own campaign funds.

Reports for O`Brien, who was not slated, indicated that he has amassed $60,040, of which more than two-thirds--$43,000--came from loans that O`Brien made to the campaign.

Two other county board candidates who are running together without backing from the regular Democrats--Stephen Hynes and Michael Hogan--collected $10,200. Hynes contributed $2,000, and $8,200 came from Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan (D., Chicago). In addition, Madigan supplied $500 in postage for the campaign.

In the three-way race for the Democratic county clerk nomination, incumbent Stanley Kusper had $16,187.08 on hand last July 1 and collected an additional $86,721 as of Feb. 17, for a total of $102,908.08. Kusper collected two $300 contributions from the Cicero Republican Party.

Another county clerk candidate, Patrick Finley, has collected $57,600 in contributions--all loans from himself. Finley is a commodities trader from the Southwest Side.

Also in the race is Jeanne Quinn, a Democratic county board member from the suburbs who has been endorsed by Washington. She, however, had collected only $17,825 as of Feb. 17, in addition to the $2,864.75 on hand last July.

Other documents indicate that Quinn has collected an additional $3,000 since Feb. 17, and campaign staffers said she has commitments for $25,000 more.

In the three-way race for the Democratic nomination for two seats on the Cook County Board of (tax) Appeals, John W. McCaffrey, the head of the utilities division for Atty. Gen. Neil Hartigan and an assistant corporation counsel under Mayors Richard J. Daley, Michael Bilandic and Jane Byrne, had collected $14,552.33 by the end of the reporting period, including $3,741.74 in loans from himself.

A joint campaign committee for longtime incumbent Harry Semrow and Wilson Frost collected $37,045 as of Feb. 17 and at least an additional $21,650 since then. If necessary, both candidates can dip into their huge personal campaign coffers. Semrow had collected $153,511.61 in the eight-month reporting period, while Frost had received $112,413.82.